Hedgehog Hunger
by FullMoonCat
Summary: Hedgehog is forced to get aquainted with the much less civilized aspects of being a werewolf, and ends up eating her very first living creature.


There are some things that just come with no end of curiosity. Things that put an endless itch to the back of the mind. An itch that will eventually need scratched. It always came out during the full moons. My animal instincts were heightened. Pushed far beyond their normal levels. Along with that came the undeniable hunger. I couldn't always keep a tight lid on the urge to eat. I would never eat anything that I knew was alive. Not in good conscience. I couldn't bring myself to do it. But as the cycles of the moon came and went I found myself unable to resist. The desire to indulge became almost unshakable. I found myself looking at smaller creatures with a pit in my stomach. My mouth would water. I knew what I needed. I couldn't just give in though.

Eventually I made peace with the fact that I would give in someday. Betsy had told me repeatedly that this was natural and I should do my best to not stress about it. None of it felt right though. I was a hedgehog, not a tiger or anything like that. I wasn't instinctively keen on violence. If anything I tended to freeze in moments like that. The more time waxed on I found that even those impulses were being eroded. I almost dove for a mouse that was trying to eat beneath the shade of a tree yesterday. It was time for me to get this out of the way.

However, if I was going to do something so barbaric, I wanted to at least do it my way. It'd be something I made notes on. I wasn't about to just act out like an animal without doing some introspection. There would be a journal to write in. I'd be keeping tabs on everything. Most importantly I wanted to make sure that this wasn't overly traumatic for whatever poor creature I took my instincts out on. I couldn't help my nature. But I certainly could mitigate the suffering that they endured. Most of all I'd be looking into the mind whatever I was eating. So that I could ensure I knew what their experience was during the events.

The first trick would be to get the Peppermint Occassion. Or better, get the ability from betsy. I sincerely wondered what happened to the ice cream fridge key after that day we all stole a scoop of tha magic ice cream. As it turned out there was actually a charm to return it to the nearest witch upon it being absent for twenty-four hours. Thankfully for myself it was Betsy. So I just asked her for it at the end of the day. That was probably the easiest part of this. Procuring the rest of my instruments proved to not be all that difficult. I had plenty of notebooks. Pens and pencils. I picked up a book on mouse biology from the library. I always had the feeling it may be haunted. After that incident with Oscar and the Fruit Farmer cartridge, there was really no doubt. I'd have to be careful with anything I interacted with in there.

With all said and done, my instruments gathered, nervousness clawing at my stomach, mouth watering, there was only one thing left to do. I had to find a proper prey animal. Nothing too large. I didn't want to make a huge mess. In my preparation I'd set out a variety of different things to ensure that no evidence was left over. I'd be doing the deed in one of the rest cabins. They were dotted along the hiking paths that went in a long loop around the outer portion of the island. The cabins didn't have anything alive in them like doors or chairs, and had no monsters to peek in on what I was doing. I'd be alone save for my test subject. I packed a tarp I could clean later. A spare change of clothes. Then at last, a live mouse trap. With all my equipment I set off towards my destination.

The island was quieter than usual tonight. One could normally expect the nocturnal creatures of the island to be very active on nights of the full moon. In contrast, tonight things were quiet. The air was cool on my fur. I was keeping it together, but I didn't know how long I could handle myself. Especially around a mouse. Just thinking about one of the little morsels had my mouth watering. I could only imagine what the texture would be like. Tender perhaps, almost like a rare steak. Nothing could compare to the amount of willpower it took to talk myself away from those urges. It was a living thing like anything else. I couldn't just give in like that. Thinking about them like inanimate bits of moving meat was everything I didn't want. But the hunger gnawed at my stomach. My body didn't want normal food. No peanut butter sandwiches or cereal. I craved meat. Raw flesh from something that had at one point been alive. The idea of it being fresh felt extra satisfying. To my horror.

Arriving at the cabin, I found a spot near the door to place the trap. After loading it with a piece of peanut butter and bread I made my ways inside. Everything in there was dark. For the first time that night I was grateful for my supernatural gift. With my better vision I could actually see my way around. The place looked pretty simple. Tightly interlocked floorboards that didn't creak. A steeply pitched roof with an oil lamp dangling from the rafters. A drip tray was beneath it to prevent any spillage. A bed complete with heavy wooolen blankets. An emergency kit hung on the wall. Placed to the left of the entrance was a fireplace, timber stacked in formation beside it. It smelled vaguely of wood-smoke with a hint of freshly disturbed soil.

While I did enjoy the bare look of the cabin, it didn't befit the special guest I was anticipating. Starting a fire wouldn't take too long. I didn't have to worry about any spiders or snakes that had taken up residence in the pile of wood. Being a werewolf made lots of things that used to be scary much less intimidating. Snake venom and spider bites didn't bother me anymore. Especially not on the full moon. Using the flint and steel on the logs in the hearth rewarded me with a small blaze within a few minutes. The rush of warmth made me want to lay down. Take a long rest beside the hearth. For a moment I was tempted, before my stomach growled at me once again. I couldn't get distracted. While the fire was cozy, relaxation wasn't my goal at the moment.

Next I spread out the tarp onto the floor. It wasn't difficult to get it to lay flat. I was trying to keep things quiet however. It made things increasingly difficult to move around the cabin. It took up the main center of the floor, leaving me without much space. I ended up being forced to crawl over the cabin's singular bed repeatedly. It took me several trips back and forth to get it flat to the floorboards. The fire by then had reached its peak. The scent of woodsmoke filled my senses. Betsy's cabin had a similar fireplace. In a way this place was like her home. Simple construction without much room for anything fancy. A living space with its bare necessities. One singular room for all one's needs.

As I pondered the cabin's relation to my best friend's abode, I heard a metallic click outside. Without the slightest hesitation I bolted towards the door. My claws found the handle faster than I would've thought possible. Flinging the obstruction aside, I saw it. A mouse looking up at me through the wire mesh of the trap. I was almost scaring myself with how quickly I was moving. Before I could even react the cage was in my hand. I shut the door, shifting my weight in a fluid motion to walk towards the tarp-covered section of the floor. I could feel my heartbeat everywhere. In my chest, my ears. My claws scratched against the wire mesh of the cage with enough force to bend the metal. I had to calm down.

With the most willpower I'd ever forced on myself, my hand released the cage. I began to focus on my self-awareness. My breath was coming in pants, tongue slightly pushed forwards over my front teeth. My first step was to shut my mouth. I followed this with deep breaths. In... and out. Inhale through the nose, then out through the mouth. I was sane still. Nothing could make me lose my grip on who I was. I was not a murderous meat-eating machine. Most definetely not a monster.

Once more I coached myself through this. I just had to calm down. Everything would be okay if I maintained dicipline. My fingers found the latch to the cage again. With shaking hands I reached into the wire-mesh prison, trying my best not to speak out loud. I couldn't let myself talk to this thing. To just acknowledge that it was alive could undo everything. It was just a small morsel to snack on. To stop these urges.

My claws closed around it. I felt the faintest bit of pain as it tried to bite me. Something changed inside of me the second I felt it in my palm. The illusion of civility fled me. Without mercy, I gripped the creature tightly enough to almost be crushing its abdomen. My thumb found its neck, applying pressure to it so that it would stop biting and wriggling. My jaw came unclenched again, and I let out a panting exhale. Its smell made me think of three course meals and Thanksgiving. A bit of drool built up in my mouth. Any thought of remaining civil left me.

My canine instincts took over. I needed it right now. No conscious thought crossed my mind as I leaned in. It took less than a second to fasten my jaws to its skull, then throw my head back. The instant that it cleared my jaws I felt the instincts seal the deal. A heavy clack resounded around the cabin, followed by a light cracking sound as the bones grated between my teeth.

Tears leapt into my eyes at the taste. Nothing else could compare. Better than holiday dinners, more savory than steak and with a texture smoother than pulled pork. I swallowed the still barely living creature. A sound somewhere between a groan and a whine escaped me. I needed more, but I didn't want more.


End file.
